THE EMPLOYABILITY AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF BACHELOR IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (HONOURS) MARKETING GRADUATES: UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA, MALAYSIA’S EXPERIENCE

The main aims of this research are: (1) to trace the employability and the career development of the Bachelor in Business Administration (Honours) (Marketing) graduates – BBA Hons. (M) – of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, in the labor market; (2) to determine if their learning experiences and knowledge acquired at UiTM as students have benefited them and relevant to their jobs, and 3) to identify what are the most important factors that determine selection criteria for graduates employability. Self administered questionnaire was developed and distributed to 187 sample respondents via mail. The finding reveals the majority of BBA Hons. (M) graduates were able to obtain their first job within six months after they graduated (74.50%). The other 25.50% obtained their first job between six months to two years. Almost half of them were employed in education sector (40.40%) engaged in teaching profession and training, both in private and in public sectors. The other 59.60% worked in government and private sectors in the fields related to their qualification. The research also shows majority of the BBA Hons. (M) graduates stated that the learning experiences and knowledge acquired at UiTM have benefited them and were very important as well as relevant to their work. Furthermore, they were very satisfied (72.30%) with the quality of education at UiTM; and the courses (subjects) taught are relevant and very important for their employment. However, employers consider graduates personality, working experiences and practical skills as most important attributes alongside with any paper qualification to secure employment. Beside, strong signals from the employers are necessary in order to ensure what soft skills are significantly important for them out of our graduates such as building student learning oriented links with business, provides responsive career services to students and longer training placement – full six months with internship allowances – in employer organizations. There was an indication that a mismatch between graduates academic qualification and their job positions, if the objective of the program is to be taken into consideration. Nonetheless, seen from the other angle, this shows the versatility of the graduates to be able to fit in any position that is offered to them. In addition, the research also reveals that the BBA Hons.(M) graduates were moderately satisfied with the quality of career services (53.20 %) provided by UiTM and they were not happy with the quality of relationship and quality of communication between UiTM and ex-UiTM graduates. They suggested that something could be done to improve career services, classroom facilities and environment, accommodation; and UiTM relationship and communication with ex-UiTM graduates better in future.